Boing Boing editor/partner and tech culture journalist Xeni Jardin hosts and produces Boing Boing's in-flight TV channel on Virgin America airlines (#10 on the dial), and writes about living with breast cancer. Diagnosed in 2011. @xeni on Twitter. email: xeni@boingboing.net.

  • robuluz

    That big bottle must have ratted him out to the screws.

  • Mister44

    Funny thing is – when i first got my rapier and main gauche, the first thing I did was fill up some Mt Dew bottles, repeat “Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.”, and ran it through. It was actually kind hard to do with suck small 16oz bottles.

  • sam1148

    And yet the Cheetos and chips go unharmed.

    • Navin_Johnson

      Was the choice of diet soda deliberate as well?…

      • Antinous / Moderator

        If you’re going to destroy something, it might as well be something that nobody really likes.

  • Snig

    This is the guy you want taking point.

  • sam1148

    I kinda think it’s cruel for this to go viral..despite he did post those vids himself.
     The unspoken thing here (and something I was guilty of) is that the dude is seriously overweight. Big time..which is the giggle factor from seeing him slash water bottles and diet coke bottles. So we watch..not so much for seeing someone slashing things…but to watch a fat person comically slashing things, which makes us happy in our own way. (even me..see my first previous comment snarky reaction comment).

    • TwilightNewsSite

      Maybe, and they say swordplay is all in the foot work (see: Star Wars Kid) but, aside from that, gotta admit, the dude’s got some skills, and the hardware to match. And a certain grace.  Plus it’s sort of epic to see someone kind of ordinary being all “go for what you know.”  And I think that apparent contradiction is kind of inspiring, and ultimately, the main appeal here.  

      Plus, swords.

      Further, on his channel, he writes video descriptions like this one, for “Homemade Longbow,” in which he showcases his PVC pipe bow and a sweet duct tape hat:

      “Made a ghetto longbow a couple years ago, only showing it now. Goes to show with some ingenuity and tape anything can become a weapon.”

      Yep. So true.

      • petertrepan

        I liked #68. Mad props from a former backyard ninja.

      • http://twitter.com/SullivanJake Jake Sullivan

        I agreed – at first, but I got sucked in and watched the other videos.  The kid is pretty funny.  He is well aware of himself and on several occasions says that he knows people will make fun of him and he doesn’t care.  

        And if he is part of Youtube ad share he will get to make a little money doing exactly what he loves and not give a rats ass if people think he’s a dork.  Awesome. 

    • http://www.nathanhornby.com/ Nathan Hornby

      This might make you feel like an asshole, but I was actually just quite impressed with his sword skills.

      He’s like the Suzan Boyle of Ninjas.

    • noah django
    • Snig

      I’ve sparred guys this big, or almost as big, in karate and ju jitsu, and I will say that when you’re hit/shoved/thrown by someone that big, giggling is not your first response.  If you meet the guy with the Buddha belly on the road, he might very well kick your ass.  There’s no getting around force equals mass time acceleration. I worry about their health, but applaud the fact they’re exercising.  I’ve also seen guys this big get skinnier through exercise, though sometimes they don’t.  Respect his skills, respect the fact he’s moving, respect he’s sharing his joy. 

      • thistelous

        except: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8vo7I71tAw

        • Snig

          But that’s more the “man bites dog” exception.  They don’t have weight classes to protect the big guys.

          • http://burntheflag.ca Jardine

            They also don’t seem to have rules that require fighting instead of constantly running away.

        • LogrusZed

           Yarboro fought in an early UFC match and it was a shorter version of the same, his opponent got on his back and bled him with repeated hammer strikes to the face for a TKO (called by ref that time as opposed to a tapout). Outside of sumo people like him are just novelty acts to draw the lookey-loos. If he had any actual judo or wrestling skill he would have won the match in the video you link to as a heel-lock from a guy with his mass would have been devastating, but he doesn’t capitalize on anything he just lays on the other guy and gets smacked around while prone.

        • Gruff Guano

          All due respect to both fighters etc…    but that was like a midget fighting a self-aware mudslide.  pretty tensive to watch.

        • Preston Sturges

          I saw a very early MMA match like this and the little guy came out and took down the big guy with one massive open hand slap to the jaw. 

      • Boundegar

        What’s bad is when you take down a guy that size, but you can’t get a proper mount because your knees can’t reach the mat around his belly.

        • Snig

          No such thing as “one size fits all” for technique.

    • http://chipandre.com Chip

      > watch a fat person comically slashing things,

      That is what I expected, but I was surprised that he actually has good form and technique.  A lot of the stuff he’s doing isn’t as easy as it looks.  The man has a hobby that he clearly puts a lot of time, effort and money into.  If he wants to post videos of it on youtube, we shouldn’t give him shit just because he happens to be fat.  His weight doesn’t seem to be hindering him in this physical activity.

  • echar

    Wow… he has a lot of really cool blades.

  • http://twitter.com/mrmallon Mr Mallon

    well they’re either brand new or he knows how to keep an edge on his weapons…

  • ffabian

    I thought it’s a clever social criticism or sarcastic depiction of the US foreign politics but apparently it’s just a a overweight dude smashing things for fun with lots of weapons.

  • http://twitter.com/HazeyWolf HazeyWolf

    Will Keith is a very cool guy; he dressed in full costume for Skyrim’s release and interviewed fans at his local game store – had the crowed totally pumped up and celebrating!  He’s a hardcore gamer  with a legion of fans and friends and through his YT channel has helped raise money for a local animal rescue… He really does know a lil sumpin about bladed weapons and most of all how to have some fun.  You rawk, Bbillyk!

    • awjt

      Yeah, I bet he’s a cool kid.  I’d like to see him cut things with more density, put them lower down and really dig in, see how well he can chop.

  • IamInnocent

    Hey madame X, you’re back to weirdoes ! You must be feeling much better: yay !

    That guy must be a king at sharpening knives. I’d have him do mine… just not delivering.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_6LOJDBXCDHL5MVQQRLOCCJ35AY alexb

    Can’t help contrasting him with the japanese girl: http://boingboing.net/2011/04/26/swordswoman-is-both.html

    • ocker3

       I was thinking “Star Wars Kid 2″?

    • Boundegar

      Yea I’ll bet she can take him.

    • invictus

      Which led me to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKMRcLyBlmg&feature=player_embedded
      Thank you.

  • AllyPally

    Amazed the editor gets a credit. This isn’t editing, it’s compiling.

    • Editz

       Obviously the editor gets a credit in choosing Archangel for the music instead of say, Yakkity Sax.

  • garyg2

    Token “when the Zombie Apocalypse comes” post.

    Well, when the Zombie Apocalypse comes, he’s on my team for sure.

  • wizardru

    I’m not sure if I’m supposed to be taking part in some sort of mockery or something or this is just an interest piece.  I mean, when I was younger, I totally would have done this exact same thing.  Why not?  If the issue is that he’s overweight…so what?

    If the issue is that he’s being geeky…isn’t that kinda why we’re all here?  I mean, how is this better or worse than kitten, accident or stunt videos, etc.?  

    If it’s just a ‘wow, this dudes sure cuts a lot of stuff and he has a lot of swords’…well, then, party on.  If he’s having fun, good on him.

    • http://www.nathanhornby.com/ Nathan Hornby

      It’s someone doing something that you might unfairly assume they couldn’t do.  Even though the ‘contradicting’ aspects of this video aren’t really contradicting at all. The word ‘unassuming’ comes to mind. Generally speaking when the word unassuming is thrown into a sentence it means fuck all – because those assumptions are often founded in stereotypes and ignorance (see my Susan Boyle comment further up – i.e. Gargoyle that can sing is remarkable because obviously how attractive and young you are defines the pitch and tone of your voice).

      It’s clever social commentary.

      That, or Xeni just likes seeing dudes cut water bottles in half. Which is totally fine.

  • Snig

    I think of the weight kind of like the Monty Python sketch where one character is named “Mr. Smoke-too-much”.  And the other character makes fun of it.  And Mr. Smoke-too-much laughs and says he’s never thought of that and how funny it is. 
    The odds of Mr. Smoke-too-much never having noticed it is rather unlikely.  This guy likely knows he’s big.  He can do stuff the vast majority of humans can’t.  It’s cooler to enjoy the latter than laugh at the former.

  • http://twitter.com/AwesomeRobot AwesomeRobot

    Why can’t people just enjoy things? 

    • http://www.tavie.com Tavie

       Because apparently someone being fat is so novel and amazing and distracting to them that it’s all they see. People on the internet have never seen fat people before, apparently. That’s the ONLY interesting thing about this or any video containing a fat person.

      Jesus, I hate people sometimes.

      • welcomeabored

        When Will’s opponents assume human form and take up arms (and legs), and Will dispatches said opponents with his pointy, stabby, slashy implements with equally demonstrated a-plomb, I’ll subscribe and be his ardent and loyal fan. 

        His weight? – meh.

      • http://www.facebook.com/bbumgarner Bill Bumgarner

        I didn’t actually notice he was fat until you mentioned it.  Too busy watching water bottle decimation.

        • zombiebob

           bullshit

      • Navin_Johnson

        Actually the really interesting thing about this video is the incredible waste of good drinking water. It just speaks to how this country mindlessly consumes. I’m trying to imagine what people in less affluent parts of the world would think about about the way bored suburban kids entertain themselves.  Yeah he’s frumpy and all that….whatever..

      • Boundegar

        Here in America we enjoy sports and a variety of diet products, so there are no fat people.

    • Antinous / Moderator

      Why can’t people just enjoy things?

      How would that help them move up in the pack?

  • grimatongueworm

    Is this “star wars kid” grown up?

  • John Verne

    WOW Kid?

    Why is this not set to some unlistenable dubsteb?

  • Doug Shawhan

    Dang. Those are some sharp blades.

  • http://twitter.com/Polackio Matt Popke

    Slicing a water bottle clean is not the easiest thing in the world to do. It’s not strength you need so much as having some measure of control over your own autonomic responses. When most people swing at something, they tense up right before they contact their target. It’s a natural response designed to protect ourselves from the force of impact. However, it significantly weakens the strike and also interrupts the momentum of their swing. When using a sword, even a very sharp one, to cut through an object cleanly you have to be able to override that natural response and remain calm and controlled throughout your movement.

    This guy knocks a lot of bottles over while slicing, but just as often he goes right through without hardly moving the lower half (or the lower half is displaced by the movement of the water). That is impressive.

    I can only imagine what the neighbors think of his occasional bottle slicing displays though.

  • http://twitter.com/Cowmix Cowmix

    I dunno. I actually like the video. Fo realz.

  • http://twitter.com/SullivanJake Jake Sullivan

    He is the single best incarnation of Ignatius J Reily I have ever seen.  I think they should cast him immediately and start shooting.  I seriously love this kid.

    • rtresco

      I was thinking of a mash-up. Ignatius J Reily in the post-apocalyptic sword-play book Ariel.

  • vonbobo

    He is visually demonstrating the struggle between man and our dependence on plastic, even though it is going to end up hurting us over time. The blade represents the apocalyptic future, as the liquid of our souls is diluted back into the earth, forever bonded with the contamination we created.

  • BurntHombre

    When the stationary water bottle apocalypse comes, I totally want this guy on my team.

  • cstatman

    i love this video,  thank you Xeni for some triumphant human spirit on a Friday.    Yes, he is cutting up water bottles, but he is having something so many of us need right now,  FUN!     sa-lute!    awesome!

  • http://profiles.google.com/walter.guyll Walter Guyll

    He really popped a cap on those bottles.

    • http://www.nathanhornby.com/ Nathan Hornby

      And water way to do it!

  • http://twitter.com/fossilfuels Funk Daddy

    I’d like to see him have a nice pedestal fixed to the ground. That’d make it much better IMO.

    What is that box he’s using there? modded case?

    • Hegelian

       I think it is a foam archery target.

  • Robert

    I’m not denying that his sword cuts were effective against plastic bottles. But they were also quite uncontrolled. This guy would really, really enjoy iaido practice and it would improve his technique immensely. 

    • Snig

      How many martial artists does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
      Two, one to perform the technique, and the other guy to watch and explain how we have the exact same technique, except you’re doing it kind of wrong…

      Though you’re right, both he and I would likely enjoy iaido practice. 

    • Boundegar

      Good against remotes is one thing. Good against the living, that’s something else.

  • James Mason

    On Arakkis, Baron Harkonnen makes convicts watch this clip as they slowly die of thirst.

  • http://docpop.org/ DocPop

    “He hates these cans! Stay away from the cans!”

    • big ryan

      EXACTLY!, thats what i was thinking the whole time

  • cbbb

    What did the water do. Why does he hate the bottled water so much!?!?

  • sweetpeedonmyrug

    Do you think he recycles?

  • http://twitter.com/TheGonzalez C.M. Gonzalez

    Yeah, sure, fat dude, health concerns… sure, sure. 

    How much fun is homie having? All of it? All of the fun? He’s having all of the fun, and we’re just sitting here typing things at the Internet like jerks!

  • Frank Diekman

    Is he practicing to take revenge on the Poland Springs bottle that killed his family?